It's a Curse

I find some people say they are going to give up cursing as their New Year's Resolution.  That's like trying to convince someone the Pope isn't Catholic!


I could never give up swearing.  It's a habit that is very hard for me to break.  


I grew up in a household where my father swore day in and day out.  I labeled his words as mild interjections. He never cursed at any of us kids, only the Giants football team or his fillies at the racetrack when they were losing.  He never swore at my mother, only when he was telling her a dirty joke.  His words were never meant to hurt or harm, only to inflect a story he needed to tell.  Each time he would take the Lords name in vain, my mother would cringe.  Her shoulders would touch the bottom of her ears and she'd say, "Stanley, stop swearing!"  

My favorite saying is, "Oh, shit!" It's the first thing out of my mouth if I do something wrong, I witness a wrong doing or I can't stop something from happening.  My boys get a kick out of this and laugh, that's when they know I'm really upset.  I remember when the twins were in Kindergarten - mind you, they were in Catholic school - the teacher asked each child how they knew when mommy was really mad.  Of course my boys answered, "When she says really bad words."  When the teacher told me that - with a big smile on her face - she said to me, "I'll believe half of what they say about you only if you believe half of what they say about me."


My mother never swore, but I always new when she was really mad and I'd know not to get in her way. Usually when she was in the kitchen, and something turned out wrong, I'd hear her say, "Oh balls."  Yup, mom was really, really upset.  We recently had a discussion about her saying and I told her that sounded really bad. She replied, "Sometimes I'd say, Oh nuts." and I told her that was even worse.


My brother-in-law use to say the 'f' word around his mother quite often and I'd ask her, "Doesn't that bother you?  I hate that word." Her reply, "It's a word in the dictionary." I just raised my eyebrows.


The vulgar words were never said in our house, my father new they were vulgar and inappropriate and wouldn't even go there, never.  Once, I remember sitting in the kitchen, I was about 13 and I said the word frigging.  I didn't use it in a bad way.  Well, he came right over to me and asked me to repeat what I had just said, so I said it again.  He then asked where I heard it.  I told him Mr. so and so says it.  He looked at me and asked, "Do you know what that means?" and I said, "no." He told me what it meant and I was so embarrassed. 
I learned real quick not to say that word.  My dad hated vulgar words.


For those who think they can stop swearing for a whole year, 6 months, or even a month, I'll give you a week. It's like biting ones nails, twirling ones hair or even cracking your knuckles. It's a habit that's hard to be broken and half the time you have no idea you're doing it until someone else points it out and tells you to stop.  You're favorite words roll off your tongue just like rain running off a roof.  Maybe we should all carry an umbrella to protect us from our worst habits raining down on us!


Happy Tails~
Barbie